2. Ramah of Asheb (Sept 'Papa; Vulg. ZTorwia),
a town mentioned only in Josh. xix. 29, in the descrip- tion of the boundaries of Asher. It would appear to have been situated near the sea-coast, and not far from Tyre, towards the north or north-east. Eusebius and Jerome mention this place, but in such a way as shows tin \ knew nothing of it further than what is stated by Joshua. In the Vulgate Jerome calls it norma, making the Hebrew article n a part of the word: this, however, is plainly an error f i )nomast. s. v. "Rama;" and note by Bonfrere I. Robinson visited a village called Ramek, situated on the western declivity of the mountain-range, about seventeen miles south-east of Tyre. It ••stands upmi an isolated bill in the midst of a basin with green fields, surrounded by higher hills." In the rocks are numerous ancient sarcophagi, and the village itself lias some remains of antiquity. He says "there is no room for quest ion but that this village represents the ancient Ramah of Asher" | Bibl. Res. iii. <'■ 1 1. Its position, how- ever, notwithstanding the assertion of so high an au- thority, doe- not at all correspond with the notice in Script ore, and the name Ramah was too common to indicate identity with any degree of certainty. Another l.'.'imi li has been discovered on a little tell, two miles
BOUth-easI of modern Tyre, and about one mile north- east of Ras-el-Ain, the site of ancient Tyre (Van de Velde, Map and Mm toir, p.342). In position this vil- lage answers in all respects to the Ramah of Asher.
3. Ramah of Gilead (2 Kings viii. 29; 2 Chron.
.\xii. 6), identical with b'amolb-t lilead (q. V.).
4. Ramah of Naphtali (Sept. \parj\ v. r.'Porjua; Vulg. A rama), one of the strong cities of tin- tribe, menti id only in Josh, six, 36, and situated apparently
to the south of Hazor, between thai citj and the Sea Of Galilee. Relaild seems inclined to identity it with the Ramah of Asher; but they are evidently distinct
cities, as indicated both by ancient geographers and the sacred wriier (Palast. p.*963). Eusebius and Jerome record the name, though they appear to have known of the place (Onomast. 8. v. " Rama"). Beth- -.--_ _._ a p]ace m (;;i|ji(.,. ,,,, :l mountain, and famous for its von. according to the Talmud (Menaekoth, viii, 6), i- thought by Schwarz (Palest. p. 178) to lie the Ramah of Naphtali. About six miles west bj south of Safed, on the leading road to Lkka, is
lern village called /,'./»/./>. It stand- on the
declivity of the mountain, surrounded by olive-groves,
and overlooking a fertile plain. It contains no visible traces of antiquity: but the name and the situation render it highly probable that it occupies the site of Ramah of Naphtali. It was visited by Schulte in 1847 (Kitter. Pal. und Syr. iii. 772), and b\ Robinson in 1852 (Bib. Res. iii. 7!H. See also Hackett. Jlllustr. of Script. p. 240; Thomson, Land and /;.„,/.. i. 515. See Rama-
THITE.
5. Ramah <>k Samuel, the birthplace and home of that prophet il Sam. i, 1'.': ii. 11, etc.), and the city elsewhere called Ramathaim-zophim.
6. Ramah of the South. See Ramath-xegeb.
7. A place mentioned in the catalogue of towns re- inhabited by the Benjamites after their return from the captivity (Neh.xi, 33). It maj be theRamab ot Benja- min (above, No. 1 |, or the Ramah of Samui 1. but its po- sition in the list (remote from (ieba. Michmash, Bethel, ver.31 : comp. Ezra ii, 26, 28) seems to remove it farther
west, to the neighborh lofLod,Hadid,andOno. There
is no further notice in the Bible of a Ramah in this di- rection: but Eusebius and Jerome allude to one. though they may be at fault in identifying it with Ramathaim and Arimatha-a ( Onomast. s. v. " Armatba Sophim :" and the remarks of Robinson, Bibl. Res. ii. •_':'.'.»». The situa- tion of the modern Ramleh agrees very well with this, a town too important and too well placid not to have existed in the ancient times The consideration that Ramleh signifies "sand," and Ramah "a height," is not a valid argument against the one being the legitimate successor of the other, if so. half the identifications of modern travellers must he reversed. Beit-ur can no Longer he the representative of Beth-boron, because in- means "eye." while koron means "caves;" nor Beit- lahm. of Bethlehem, because lahm is •• Hesh,"and leh< m "bread;" nor el-Aal, of IHealeh, because </ is in Arabic the article, and in Hebrew the name of God. In these cases the tendency of language is to retain the sound at the expense of the meaning.- Smith.
8. Ramah near Hebron, called Er-Samek, or Ra- mi/ el-Khaiil -Ramah of Hebron, or Ramah of the Friend, i. e. Ramah of Abraham, or the High-place of Abraham the Friend of God. It lies about two miles north of Hebron, a little to the right or east of the road from Hebron to Jerusalem, on an eminence, the lop and southern slope of which are covered with an- cient foundations, the principal of which are tin se ot a large building, apparently a Christian church. The ruins are described by Wolcott i Bibtioth, Sac. i. 45), and bj Dr. Wilson (Lands of tk< Bible, i, 382). The